An electro-acoustic transducer has an electro-magnetically driven moving dome and a phase plug having a body and a dome-interface surface, with a compression cavity formed between the dome and the dome-interface surface. The phase plug includes at least first and second annular slots beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a first depth into the body of the phase plug. The first and second slots are separated by a bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a first bridge passage at the first depth beneath the dome-interface surface. The phase plug also includes an exit slot coupling the bridge passage to a throat at a second depth in the body of the phase plug.
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1. An apparatus comprising:
an electro-acoustic transducer having an electro-magnetically driven moving dome and a phase plug having a body and a dome-interface surface, with a compression cavity formed between the dome and the dome-interface surface;
the phase plug comprising at least first and second annular slots beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a first depth into the body of the phase plug,
the first and second slots being separated by a bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a first bridge passage at the first depth beneath the dome-interface surface, only the first and second slots being joined by the first bridge passage,
the phase plug further comprising an exit slot coupling the bridge passage to a throat at a second depth in the body of the phase plug.
15. An apparatus comprising:
an electro-acoustic transducer having an electro-magnetically driven moving dome and a phase plug having a body and a dome-interface surface, with a compression cavity formed between the dome and the dome-interface surface;
the phase plug comprising at least first and second annular slots beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a first depth into the body of the phase plug,
the first and second slots being separated by a bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a first bridge passage at the first depth beneath the dome-interface surface,
the phase plug further comprising an exit slot coupling the bridge passage to a throat at a second depth in the body of the phase plug, wherein the exit slot begins at a position along the first bridge passage corresponding to a location of a null in a standing wave in a loop comprising the first bridge passage, the first and second slots, and the portion of the compression cavity joining the first and second slots.
14. An apparatus comprising:
an electro-acoustic transducer having an electro-magnetically driven moving dome and a phase plug having a body and a dome-interface surface, with a compression cavity formed between the dome and the dome-interface surface;
the phase plug comprising at least first and second annular slots beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a first depth into the body of the phase plug,
the first and second slots being separated by a bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a first bridge passage at the first depth beneath the dome-interface surface,
the phase plug further comprising an exit slot coupling the bridge passage to a throat at a second depth in the body of the phase plug, wherein the first and second slots are located at corresponding first and second radial distances from a central axis of the phase plug, the first and second radial distances corresponding to locations of first and second nulls in a standing wave excited in the compression cavity by motion of the dome.
2. The apparatus of
3. The apparatus of
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8. The apparatus of
9. The apparatus of
the third slot beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a third depth into the body of the phase plug,
the third slot being separated from the second slot by a second bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a second bridge passage at the third depth to the first bridge passage, and
the exit slot beginning at the second bridge passage.
10. The apparatus of
the third and fourth slots being separated by a second bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a second bridge passage at the third depth beneath the dome-interface surface,
the second slot and first bridge passage being separated form the third slot and second bridge passage by a third bridge element at the dome interface surface and joined by a third bridge passage at a fourth depth beneath the third bridge element,
the exit slot beginning at the third bridge passage.
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This disclosure relates to electroacoustic transducing with a bridged phase plug.
A compression driver is a type of electroacoustic transducer in which air is compressed in a compression cavity between a moving diaphragm and a fixed phase plug. Passages in the phase plug, referred to as slots, conduct air from the compression cavity to a listening environment, generally through a throat and a horn. The horn provides impedance matching between the air in the throat and air in the free space of the listening environment and controls the directivity of the radiated sound.
Several terms are defined with reference to
In a typical phase plug, exemplified in
In general, in some aspects, an electro-acoustic transducer has an electro-magnetically driven moving dome and a phase plug having a body and a dome-interface surface, with a compression cavity formed between the dome and the dome-interface surface. The phase plug includes at least first and second annular slots beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a first depth into the body of the phase plug. The first and second slots are separated by a bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a first bridge passage at the first depth beneath the dome-interface surface. The phase plug also includes an exit slot coupling the bridge passage to a throat at a second depth in the body of the phase plug.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The first and second slots may have approximately equal cross-sectional areas. The exit slot may have a cross-sectional area at the first bridge passage approximately equal to the sum of the cross sectional areas of the first and second slots. The exit slot may begin at the first bridge passage and have a cross-sectional area that increases exponentially with the length of the exit slot from the bridge passage to the throat. The first and second slots may be located at corresponding first and second radial distances from a central axis of the phase plug, the first and second radial distances corresponding to locations of first and second nulls in a standing wave excited in the compression cavity by motion of the dome. The exit slot may begin at a position along the first bridge passage corresponding to a location of a null in a standing wave in a loop including the first bridge passage, the first and second slots, and the portion of the compression cavity joining the first and second slots.
A voice-coil may be coupled to the dome and a compliant surround may couple the dome to a surrounding structure. A housing including a dome-facing surface may forms a back cavity between the dome and the dome-facing surface. A horn may be coupled to the output aperture of the phase plug. The phase plug may also include a third slot, the third slot beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a third depth into the body of the phase plug, the third slot being separated from the second slot by a second bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a second bridge passage at the third depth to the first bridge passage, and the exit slot beginning at the second bridge passage. The phase plug may also include third and fourth slots beginning at the dome-interface surface and extending a third depth into the body of the phase plug, the third and fourth slots being separated by a second bridge element at the dome-interface surface and joined by a second bridge passage at the third depth beneath the dome-interface surface, the second slot and first bridge passage being separated form the third slot and second bridge passage by a third bridge element at the dome interface surface and joined by a third bridge passage at a fourth depth beneath the third bridge element, the exit slot beginning at the third bridge passage. The first depth and the third depth may be approximately equal. The dome may be concave or convex relative to the phase plug.
Advantages include providing a smooth output response at high efficiency levels across the entire operating range of the compression driver.
Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and the claims.
An improved compression driver 100 having a bridged phase plug 102 is shown in
The dome 10, bobbin 14, surround 16, voice coil 20, and other parts external to the phase plug may not vary from the traditional compression driver design, or may be modified in other ways independent of the bridged phase plug. Modifications to the moving parts and external structure are beyond the scope of this disclosure.
Various design parameters may be modified to optimize the bridged phase plug 102 for particular performance targets, based on the acoustic attributes of the back cavity, compression cavity, and the moving parts (dome, skirt, bobbin, surround). In particular, the radii 104c, 106c of the slots 104 and 106 (measured from the centerline 100a of the phase plug to the centerlines 104a, 106a of the slots), the widths 104b, 106b of the slots, the radius 114c where the exit slot 114 joins the bridge passage 110, and the curvatures of the slots, can all be varied to obtain desired performance.
In some examples, the slots 104 and 106 are centered at radii selected to correspond to nulls in low-order axisymmetric, or radial mode, standing waves in the compression cavity induced by motion of the dome. Locating the slots at such nulls minimizes the pressure caused by cavity modes in the compression cavity. The widths of the slots 104 and 106 are selected to control a relationship between the total cross-sectional areas of the two slots. In some examples, the widths are selected so that the two slots have equal or approximately equal areas, which we refer to as a balanced bridge. The particular relationship between the areas of the two slots can be varied to obtain desired performance. In contrast, in some conventional multi-slot phase plugs, each slot's width is the same, making each slot's total area proportional to its radius. The balanced bridge design controls pressure peaking in the compression cavity without changing the slot locations. It also reduces the pressure response at the center of the compression cavity over a wide frequency band around the bridge resonance, explained in more detail below. The thickness of the bridge element 112 is tapered so that the cross-sectional areas of the two slots 104 and 106 remain approximately constant along their respective lengths, from the dome-interface surface 108 to the region where they combine and join the exit slot 114. As shown in
The radius 114c where the exit slot 114 joins the bridge passage 110 is selected to correspond to a null in a low-order, e.g., first order, standing wave in the bridge passage 110. Also shown in the example of
The balanced bridge phase plug has an additional advantage, as compared to conventional multi-slot phase plugs, of controlling loop resonances. In the conventional phase plug of
Two alternative bridged phase plug designs 200 and 201 are shown in
A sectional view of an assembled loudspeaker 300 is shown in
Another embodiment 400 is shown in
Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims and other claims to which the applicant may be entitled.
Ickler, Christopher B., Froeschle, Thomas A., Wendell, John H.
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Jun 19 2009 | ICKLER, CHRISTOPHER B | Bose Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 022866 | /0316 | |
Jun 22 2009 | WENDELL, JOHN H | Bose Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 022866 | /0316 | |
Jun 22 2009 | FROESCHLE, THOMAS A | Bose Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 022866 | /0316 | |
Jun 24 2009 | Bose Corporation | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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